Moroccan PhD student takes home Miss Arab Veil award

A Moroccan woman won the title of recently held Miss Arab Veil 2018, making her country proud. The event is an annual beauty contest between hijab-wearing women, which is held in Cairo, Egypt.

Nisrine El Kettani, the winner of this year’s contest, is a student of PhD in Civil Engineering and the win added another feather to her crown. She shared her happiness on winning this contest on social media accounts, Facebook and Instagram.

She shared a video on Instagram after victory saying, “I’m so proud that I represented the Arab woman and raised the Moroccan flag,”

After the win, Kettani gave an interview to Akhbar Al Yaoum, saying that she would try to balance her studies, career and what would follow her success in the contest. She further shared her plans of starting an organization that defends women’s rights and fights sexual harassment against women in the Arab world.

She also shared the reason behind her participating in the contest, saying that she did it to break the stereotypical image of hijab wearing women by participating in the beauty contest.

“I want to break the stereotype about the Hijabi woman and prove that she can also participate in contests as such and that she can prove herself in the Arab society,” she said.

What prompted her to participate in the contest were the numerous messages she got on her Instagram account that encouraged her. After the win, she thanked all the people who believed in her.

The annual beauty contest attracts participants from different Muslim countries where women are judged on their etiquette, poise, modesty and educational level.